


Beneath the Stars

by GrimHeaperr



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Flirting, Gen, Loneliness, M/M, Self-Doubt, Sillyness, after Vah Ruta, call of the void, introspective Link, it's sad very briefly, sidlink - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 21:32:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18558277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimHeaperr/pseuds/GrimHeaperr
Summary: Prince Sidon asks for Link to stay for a few more days after Link defeats Vah Ruta.





	Beneath the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> A short character study.  
> twitter: @grimkohai  
> tumblr: grimkohai.tumblr.com

Link comes back from Divine Beast Vah Ruta victorious, heart heavier than before. He kneels before King Dorephan and Prince Sidon, clothes soaked and slightly singed. He takes his praise with a polite nod. He gestures that he has seen and spoken with Mipha; she’s in control of the Divine Beast but bound to it as a spirit. King Dorephan and Prince Sidon get their closure, and Link doesn’t miss the way Muzu excused himself after King Dorephan voiced what Link had gestured.

Guilt weighed Link on his journey since speaking with King Rhoam. Asleep for a hundred years — forgotten in a shrine while Calamity Ganon claimed the lives of the other champions, of Mipha, of Princess Zelda… now he’s alone.

Link grips the straps of his sword and bow as he gets up to retrieve his reward. Guilt gnaws at seeing Mipha’s Lightscale Trident, a few sepia memories of Link sparring with Mipha when he was younger. When they still occupied the space, the same time. And now Mipha has a brother she’s never seen, grown. Link gives a longing look to Sidon — hopes his eyes convey the sorrow and regret before bidding a final goodbye. He’s almost across the bridge when a voice stops him.

“Link!” It’s Sidon’s cheerful voice but Link can hear the upturn of an oncoming question. The Prince stops a few steps from Link. Link has to push wet bangs behind his ears to properly look at Prince Sidon: yellow irises and black slits trained on Link’s smaller frame. Even for a Zora, the prince is tall. Link blinks up at him, waiting. His clothes are starting to chill him from the wind caught between the cliffs and he’d rather make it to a wooded area for camp. The sun is sinking, and the stars begin to appear like the morning dew’s first drops.

“Would you— would you like to stay the night? I’m sure the inn will offer you a place for a few days, if you’re willing, my friend.” Prince Sidon says, nerves threading through his words. _What is he nervous about?_  Link thinks on it for a moment. A bed, maybe a clean bath… but he can’t see the stars and unlike the wilderness, Link can hear the splashing of the Zora’s and the slaps of their feet. The place buzzes with too many people for Link to rest peacefully, or as peaceful as he could get from his old training as a knight.

Link is about to shake his head when Sidon speaks again. “I really would like to thank you for Vah Ruta… and on behalf of my sister.” Prince Sidon makes a fist with his right hand and brings it to his chest. He bows with his head neck, chest slightly forward. Link startles, immediately raising his hands and waving them. Royalty has never bowed to him — his a knight, and that is Link’s position to do so. When Prince Sidon glances down at Link, his lips are pursed.

Link watch Zora’s gather in a small crowd, scattered behind them but Link catches their stares. He swallows his emotions and nods. Prince Sidon perks up, a smile revealing the jagged teeth behind thin lips.

“Great! Shall I show you to your room?” Sidon holds out his hand. Link grips his straps tighter. Prince Sidon smoothly places his outstretched hand on his hip and jerks his thumb in the direction of the inn. “It’s over this way.”

Link follows Prince Sidon to the inn, greeting Kayden and Kodah.

“Linny!” Kodah greets, her normal smile warm and welcoming. “Prince Sidon,” she bows as Kayden does. She closes the distance between the newcomers in a few strides, hands immediately grabbing Link’s. Link misses the confused look Prince Sidon gives him at the nickname. “Of course we can offer you a night in our beds! It’s the least we can do after you helped stop Vah Ruta. If you wish to wash, there’s an area down below.”

“Come meet me at the East Reservoir come morning, Link. Until then,” Prince Sidon sticks out a hand. Hesitantly, Link shakes it and nods for good measure. Prince Sidon bides them goodbye.

Kodah sighs while Kayden chuckles. “I have never seen the Prince this awkward. It has been decades since the Prince has acted like this.”

Link raises an eyebrow. He gestures, _What do you mean?_

“I’m sure you know our prince is quite expressive,” Kodah poses like how Sidon had greeted Link the first time they met. Link smiles at the imitation. “But to see him so tongue-tied and stiff is humorous, to say the least.” Link is about to ask what she means by that but Kodah waves him off. “But that is merely my observation of the matter. Anyway, Linny, you must bathe and rest. I’m sure you’re tired.”

Link feels his shoulder relax at that. His body slumps and fatigue hits him. Kodah laughs while Kayden gathers a thick drying cloth and a small bar of soap. Link dumps his weapons onto the floor, pushing them under the bed. He keeps his bag on him and takes the items from Kayden with a thankful nod.

Below Zora’s Domain is a shallow pool that drops off suddenly. Link sets his bag down and strips down to his undergarments before wading in the water. He scrubs himself raw with the bar of soap, smelling of violets and something sweeter — a wildberry, maybe. He uses the bubbles of his soap to lather his hair until the bar is but a sliver and finishes by dunking his body in the cold water. He stands ankle deep to wring his hair before drying, letting the cold wind air dry his undergarment shorts until they’re comfortably dry before dressing in well-worn beige trousers and tunic. He makes his way back up, and by the time he arrives, the lights in the domain are low and Kodah and Kayden are missing. A plate of rice balls waits for him on his bed. He folds the damp drying cloth and places it by his boots next to the bed.

Link appeases his grumbling stomach before falling into a fitful sleep, the water lulling him in and out of consciousness and the fear he holds when sleeping in the wild thick in his muscles.

Despite being a light sleeper, Link doesn’t wake until after sunset, the stars out and the moon beginning to rise. He jolts awake, chest heaving and frantically looking around for Prince Sidon. His clothes stick to his body from the humidity and his hair is a tangled mess.

“I told the Prince you need rest, and he went on his way,” Kodah says with a motherly smile. Link sighs, a bit of disappointment and a bit of relief sagging his shoulders. He wanted to avoid talking to Prince Sidon, but… there’s closure for him in Link. “He’s waiting at the East Reservoir Lake.”

Link thanks her with a nod before he changes into his Zora armor. He hurries off, leaving his weapons under the bed he occupied.

When he arrives, his face pink from running and sweat mingles with the humidity. He uses a band to smooth and tie his hair back as he walks down the long walkway to where Prince Sidon sits, legs dangling in the lake. Link roles up his trouser legs until they are bunched to his knees and sits next to Prince Sidon, slowly sliding his feet and legs into cold water.

“Did you rest well?” Friendly. “You must have been exhausted after the battle with Vah Ruta. I apologize for not considering this in our plans,” he says. Link shakes his head. Prince Sidon huffs out a forced laugh but manages a smile. “I was too eager.”

 _It is okay,_ Link gestures. Prince Sidon hums.

“You know, Mipha taught me how to read your gestures,” he says, “She told me you didn’t speak, but she knows of your voice, as does Bazz. I wish I could thank her, for I didn’t know of its purpose then. She taught me in hopes that we would be friends, I think.” Prince Sidon shifts his gaze to the night sky, leaning back on his hands. Link looks up too.

The moon has settled just below its peak, almost full. The white light illuminates the water in a dreamy state. Link feels a call pull him toward the dark depths, but he moves his legs back and forth in the cool water. His eyes trace the constellations of stars overhead, the diamonds in the velvet glittering across the vast deep, deep blue. He feels incredibly small. Link hunches, making himself smaller. He knows the weight he carries, and tonight, the sky doesn’t help ease his burden.

“Over the years, I had many questions for Mipha. My memories of her are gentle and kind, and somehow, also filled with you. She loved you, that much is clear,” Prince Sidon gestures to the armor Link is wearing, “But now, she’s at peace. She loved helping people, especially you.” Prince Sidon flashes him a knowing smile that causes Link to blush.

Sidon shifts his gaze back up to the stars. “Tell me, my friend, is it selfish to wish that Mipha was here, to burden my own burdens?” Yellow eyes glaze over, mind elsewhere.

Link doesn’t know how to respond to that. He’s spent years bearing the burden of the Master Sword in silence, hoping that no one else would bear what he does. The fate of Hyrule rests with him and only him, it seems. Zelda has been doing his her part. He’s spent sleepless nights wanting to be someone else — spent a few days being someone else in Gerudo town before speaking to Riju. He was ashamed for his actions but enjoyed the anonymity the disguise gave him. It is selfish, but only to Link. The same does not apply to Prince Sidon, whose fate lies with Link in the greater picture.

Link shakes his head.

“No?”

Link shakes his head again. Hums. _You are human,_  Link gestures, ignoring the bad phrase and the funny glint in Sidon’s eyes, _You have wants, needs. No wrong in you._

Sidon laughs, weakly, as he kicks up water. “You put much faith in me, my friend.”

 _I can say the same,_ Link tries to joke, and Sidon takes it.

“You are wonderful, my dear Link. You were simply amazing sending shock arrows to Vah Ruta and emerging from the beast in one piece. Your strength is incomparable. I am good with sword, but I do not think I could have taken the beast by myself.”

Link blushes at the praise, heat tinting his cheeks pink. He burns under Prince Sidon’s gaze. _I can teach you,_ he gestures, _I will stay until you are comfortable._

Prince Sidon’s smile reaches his eyes this time, petals tickling in Link’s stomach as they bloom in the pit of his stomach.

“I would appreciate that, Link.”

Link smiles and mirrors Sidon’s pose. Their pinkies touch as they gaze at the night sky, the moon now high overhead.

“Thank you, Link,” Sidon says softly, “for lending an ear.”

Link moves a hand to wiggly his left ear with his fingertips. Sidon laughs.

“Were you always so funny, Link?”

Link shrugs. Sidon sits up and grabs the pieces of skin that cover his ear canals, flapping them too. “Do you think I could be the next Vah Ruta?” Link snorts. “I’m serious!” Prince Sidon mimics Vah Ruta’s cry, loud enough for it to echo across the water but not loud enough to be heard from the domain.

Link clutches his sides, his laugh ringing into the empty night. It’s deep and scratchy and Link catches the tail-end of a beaming smiled directed toward him.

Prince Sidon slips into the water, disappearing beneath the surface. Link stands up, watching the water for his shadow but the moonlight obstructs his view. Prince Sidon reemerges a few meters from the dock on his back. He spits out water before mimicking Vah Ruta’s cry again. Link buries his face in his hands, body trembling from silent laughter.

“If you were a beast, which would you be?” Prince Sidon asks as he swims closer to the dock.

Link wipes tears from his eyes as he thinks about the question. Link tilts his head to the side as he thinks, folding his arms across his chest.

Vah Medoh flies high up in the sky, the altitude and constant moving making Link suffer from nauseation and light-headedness. Plus, the altitude made for a cold climate that he didn’t care for. Vah Naboris moved across the sands, feet sinking in with every step. The heat was stuffy and almost unbearable. However, Vah Rudania was on the ground and closer to it. He also enjoys being around the Gorons and the hot springs Death Mountain had hidden among its rocky land.

Link lifts up his arms, moving them in alternate motions as he lifts his legs to mirror the motion. Prince Sidon laughed heartily, deep and earnest.

“Rudania?” he asked. “How surprising!” he says as he swims up to the dock, folding his large arms together to rest his chin on. Link shrugged. “I for sure thought that you would pick Medoh with your proficiency with your paraglider!”

 _Necessity._ Link gestures curtly. He hates heights, and up so high, no one sees how he white-knuckles the pole of his paraglider.

“There is much I don’t know about you, my friend.”

Link sits down, crosses his legs and ignores how the excess water on his legs seep into his trousers. _We have the night._


End file.
